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Overcast Plans to keep Mini Mart spirit alive
Business owners and shoppers from the North Shore were united in their disappointment of the cancellation of the Oct. 2 Sea Cliff Annual Mini Mart due to inclement weather. However, the community has banded together to give local shoppers and vendors a second chance by extending the Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church Fall Bazaar.
Mini Mart is an annual street fair in Sea Cliff held nearly every year for the past 51 years, barring the last two due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For the last 39 years it has been organized and run by the Kiwanis Club of North Shore, Long Island.
Lisa Larson Hill, co-chair of the North Shore Kiwanis, explained that Mini Mart has been a Sea Cliff institution for decades, and would see roughly 12,000 people come through the village for the day. Due to the high winds from the remnants of Hurricane Ian, however, Mini Mart was unfortunately forced to wait one more year before its grand return to Sea Cliff.
“It’s kind of like this great big block party, if you will. It’s a very beloved event,” Hill said. “But 37-mile-per-hour winds would have absolutely blown down the tents, even if each one of the vendors had tent weights, and if one of those tents went flying and hurt somebody that would have been the end of Mini Mart.”
The cancellation meant people were unable to pick up homemade craft goods but also represented a financial loss for many small businesses and charitable organizations that rely on Mini Mart.
Skvarla, who has participated in Mini Mart for over 20 years, said the event is important, both as a resident and business owner. While he appreciated and understood the situation Skvarla highlighted how difficult it was to not have Mini Mart for the third year in a row.
“Normally it’s the biggest day of the year for people that like to celebrate Sea Cliff,” Skvarla said. “What me and a lot of the other artists and businesses along Sea Cliff Avenue do in sales for Mini Mart make up a large percentage of our entire yearly income, so to have it cancelled for three years in a row now really hurts.”
Thankfully however, all is not lost. The community has banded together to make the best of the situation. Thanks to the efforts of some Sea Cliff residents, many of the Glen Head and Sea Cliff vendors who were supposed to attend Mini Mart will be able to hawk their wares at the Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church Fall Bazaar this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Fall Bazaar, held by Saint Luke’s for over 40 years, is the church’s primary fundraiser. In addition to selling homemade jams, sauces, cider and baked goods, they hold a raffle and have vendors selling seasonal crafts and handmade items.
When Mini Mart was cancelled, some residents and members of the bazaar’s planning committee reached out to Saint Luke’s pastor Jesse Lebus with the idea to give some of the vendors a second chance and set up shop at the bazaar. Lebus and the committee agreed, emphasizing how much of a community effort it was getting everything together.
“This is a group of people in the community, some of whom happened to be Saint Luke’s parishioners, who just want to make sure that local vendors have the chance to unload some of their merchandise and to provide, you know, great opportunities for gifts for the holidays,” Lebus said.
To accommodate new vendors, the church applied for numerous last minute permits from the village so that they could set up an extension at Roslyn Park. For that they called on Sea Cliff resident and Saint Luke’s parishioner Courtney Citko, who has past experience with permits from running farmer’s markets.
Citko said this was a monumental effort from residents to keep the spirit of Mini Mart alive, and said how vendors like Skvarla will have the chance to make up for some of the lost revenue.
“There are between a dozen and 20 additional vendors who are made up primarily of local artisans from Mini Mart who are planning to participate in the Bazaar,” Citko said. “I think it’s going to be a good showing by a lot of different people. There’s a lot of shopping to be done.”
